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June 2008 headlines (issue 20)

UK under fire as Soil Directive rears its head
The European Commission has kick-started further debate on the proposed Soil Framework Directive by holding a “high-level conference on soil and climate change”, at which environment commissioner Stavros Dimas made his displeasure with the Environment Council’s blocking motion at the end of last year extremely clear.
l Visit http://ec.europa.eu/environment/soil/index.htm

Model conditions
CLG has circulated a new set of model conditions for use by local planning authorities during development of contaminated land.

Protest at Torbay gasworks
A protest has taken place against Torbay Council’s conditional planning approval for 185 flats on the former Hollicombe gasworks, which borders Preston Primary School.

Groundwater regs to change – a little
A consultation on proposed amendments to the Groundwater Regulations 1998 has been published by Defra.

York landfill – further tests
City of York Council has voted to accept a grant of £38,634 from Defra to carry out site investigation of a former landfill at Fulford.

Violet Bank garden clean-up complete
Scottish Borders Council has completed remediation of contaminated gardens at Violet Bank in Peebles, a report to its cabinet has said.

Asbestos dumped on closed landfill
A serious waste incident has led to a fine for a waste company.

Sheep fertility under the spotlight
University of Nottingham researchers will investigate the impact of chemicals found in human sewage sludge on sheep foetuses in the womb.

Longbridge plans hit BCC desk
Regeneration specialist St Modwen and Advantage West Midlands have submitted four major planning applications relating to the redevelopment of the former Longbridge works.

Stop and seize fly-tipping powers
Local authorities will gain the power to stop, search and instantly seize vehicles suspected of being involved in fly-tipping and other waste offences under Defra plans.
l www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/waste-controls

Part 2A and soils talent on the move
Keith Davidson,a Part 2A specialist, has joined Pannone in Manchester to head its environment team.

Askew joins Environ
Environ has announced the appointment of environmental impact assessment expert and soils specialist Rob Askew.

ELD warning
The Environmental Industries Commission has warned that the government is “at risk of creating further confusion over environmental liability” in its implementation of the Environmental Liability Directive.

Leachate treatment
The Environment Agency has approved the use of an innovative leachate treatment system invented by WRG.

GMPPP ground gas guidance
Greater Manchester has produced a briefing note, Development on Land Potentially Affected by Hazardous Ground Gas, to “improve the service delivery and technical consistency between member authorities of the Greater Manchester Public Protection Partnership”.

Tree planting on closed landfills
Forestry Commission research has been published which demonstrates it is safe to plant trees on capped landfill sites, the government has claimed.

Considering wildlife
Planners and landowners who ignore the potential for land contamination to affect wildlife may risk having their applications rejected unless they follow guidance introduced to help protect wildlife on or near land earmarked for development, according to Environ expert Samantha Deacon.

Croda Doncaster site
St Paul’s Developments has bought a 13 acre brownfield site from occupier Croda Chemicals and then leased back 50,000 square feet of warehouse space to the company to continue to use for one year.

Going down the garden...
CLB reports on genetic research into earthworms’ response to contamination

Leinster CBE
Acting Environment Agency chief executive Paul Leinster has been awarded a CBE for public and voluntary service.

Future land use
Foresight, the government’s “futures think tank”, will examine land use in the UK in its next report.

Waste arrests
Officers from Environment Agency Wales, assisted by Gwent Police, have arrested two directors and the previous company secretary of a Newport-based company as part of a major investigation into the illegal handling of waste.

Land use statistics
Seventy five percent of dwellings were built on previously developed land in 2007, down from 76% in 2006, according the CLG’s provisional estimates for Land Use Statistics (England) 2007.

US brownfield funding
Sixteen state or local governments are to receive brownfield remediation grants from the US Environmental Protection.

Chief planner
Steve Quartermain has been appointed chief planner by communities secretary Hazel Blears.

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May 2008 headlines (issue 19)

Tyneside shore access ban
Newcastle City Council has declared the St Anthony’s Tar Works on the banks of the Tyne as contaminated land under Part 2A, and is advising the public to stay away from a stretch of shore next the site where contaminants are most concentrated at high tide.

Go-ahead for Corby birth defect case
A case brought by 18 people who claim they were born with birth defects due to Corby Borough Council’s mismanagement of a contaminated former British Steel works will go ahead after the Court of Appeal dismissed objections to the case.

Rob Bell reports from the EPUK spring contaminated land update workshop

Waste not...
The first treated soil from the Cluster project hub site has been sent for reuse.

No U-turn in Health Protection Agency risk assessment policy, EPUK told
Contaminated Land Clarification Note 1 [see CLB Feb/March] does not represent a u-turn in Health Protection Agency policy, senior environmental scientist Dr Christopher Johnson told EPUK’s spring contaminated land update.

£7bn cost to clean up UK land
Remediating the UK’s existing stock of contaminated land will cost at least £7 billion, according to English Partnerships’ brownfield technical consultant Dr Richard Boyle, something that will “keep us all in jobs for a very long time”.

CIEH statistical analysis paper
Guidance on the use of statistical tests in the assessment of soil contamination data has been published by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and CL:AIRE.

Contaminated land firm oil pollution fine
“Lack of focus” on the remediation effort followed the pollution of five kilometers of a stream and the River Thet, in Norfolk, with oil from an Attleborough haulage yard, Swaffham Magistrates heard.

Bournemouth accused on Gypsy site
Bournemouth City Council is proposing a transit Gypsy and Traveller site it said would prevent travellers staying on unauthorised sites.

Contamination from flooding
The South Yorkshire Flooding Working Group has developed a tool that provides a risk assessment framework for potential chemical contamination during flood events, following the events of last summer.

Windsor bars Badnell’s Pit plans
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has turned down a planning application for more than 400 houses and flats and an extra care housing scheme at St Mary’s Park, a large part of which is on the highly contaminated waste site at Badnell’s Pit.

Olympics remediation nearly complete
Ninety eight percent of the 2.5 square kilometre Olympic Park has now been investigated for contamination with findings in line with expectations, according to the Olympic Delivery Authority.

All change at the EA
Both chief executive Baroness Barbara Young and chairman Sir John Harman have left the Environment Agency. Young has held the post for eight years, and will join the new Care Quality Commission. She will be replaced by long-time Agency figure and current director of operations Dr Paul Leinster.

Studying nanoparticle movement
The movement of carbon-based nanoparticles in groundwater depends on the solution properties of the water carrying them, according to research carried out at Georgia Tech.

Vaz calls for remedial action
Labour’s Keith Vaz MP has met with concerned residents at the former GE Lighting factory in Leicester.

It’s the dose, stupid
Rob Bell reports on the latest non-developments in the SGV saga following Defra’s statement and the debate that followed at Environmental Protection UK’s spring contaminated land update

BRMF meeting
CIRIA’s Brownfield Risk Management Forum will hold its next event on 10 July in London.

Lakes campaign
Oxford City Council has reinforced its official backing of the Save Radley Lakes Campaign.
£16m land sale profit
Oracle Residential has made a profit of £16 million on two “heavily contaminated” ink manufacturing works sites.

EUGRIS site relaunch
The revamp of the EUGRIS website is complete, and the relaunched version is now available, offering “efficient and equal access to technical, policy and research for soil and water managers”.

Online book sale
Land contamination – Management of Financial Risk (C545) and Remedial Processes for Contaminated Land – Principles and Practice (C549) are on sale for £40 and £20 respectively from the CIRIA website. l www.ciria.org

Nabarro partner
Contaminated land lawyer Clare Deanesly has joined Nabarro from US firm Jones Day, where she headed up the company’s London environment group.

Cluster 2 project
English Partnerships is looking to build on the success of the Cluster project by taking forward Cluster 2, a further soil hub project that will include multiple sites, landowners and remediation technologies.

Downsizing at Dudley
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council has lost two of its contaminated land staff due to restructuring. The council will also cease offering a landfill search service to the public. GIS brownfield tool English Partnerships is developing a web-enabled GIS tool for brownfield site information which will be made available to local authorities, developers and the public.

Garden grabbing
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is challenging the government to give all local authorities the power to protect gardens from development.

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April 2008 headlines (issue 18)

Amber Valley own goal
Banks Developments has applied to the High Court for the quashing of its own planning permission for the Cinderhill tarpits, in a bizarre twist to the Cinderhill Opposition Group’s campaign to ensure remediation of the site.

Clean up of 43 sites to cost £8.6m
Dumfries and Galloway Council has identified 43 high-risk sites through its contaminated land inspection and assessment strategy.

Soil Strategy for UK
Defra is consulting on a draft Soil Strategy in advance of a European Directive currently stalled following blocking
l www.defra.gov.uk/corpora te/consult/soilstrategy/ index.htm

Cardiff ploughs on at St Donats
Cardiff Council will proceed with remediation of the most polluted of 110 properties in St Donats [see CLB 17] despite the lack of new soil guideline values from government.

DCLG promises guidance and national forum
Government will establish a National Brownfield Forum as part of its response to English Partnerships’ draft National Brownfield Strategy. The Forum will replace EP’s Brownfield Forum and Defra’s Contaminated Land Forum.

Poor regulation costs £200m
The Environmental Industries Commission has published survey results it said showed £200 million are being wasted annually due to flaws in the regulation of contaminated land remediation, with respondents claiming 20% of the costs and time associated with site investigation and remediation could be saved through regulatory improvements: without a loss of environmental protection.

Land report holds up much delayed estate
Former residents of the demolished Dove Gardens estate in Bogside, Derry, who have been living in rented accommodation since 2005, will have to wait even longer for new homes after contamination reports brought planning deliberations to a halt.

Giant claims for DRAM device
University of Aberdeen researchers have developed the Device for the Remediation and Attenuation of Multiple pollutants, which uses an unspecified (for commercial reasons) by-product of whisky production to remediate contaminated groundwater.

Restoration for massive tyre dump
The regeneration of a former tyre disposal ground near Doncaster is underway in order to create a new ecological area.

Chester pre-emptive testing
A former landfill site in Chester is being tested for methane and other contaminants, Chester City Council has revealed.

Reservoir threat from Peaks metals
Groundwater is under threat from heavy metals deposited on the Peak District, according the Patricia Linton of Manchester Metropolitan University, who has been studying water acidification in the area.

Long-term plan for canal corridor
Congleton Borough Council is consulting on the Middlewich Canal Corridor Area Action Plan, a planning document intended to assist in the delivery of regeneration in Middlewich up to 2026.

Homes proposal for quarry site
The Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk is considering a planning application by Orchid Properties for 33 new homes on a contaminated former quarry in Watlington, which was filled with construction and other waste.

Swindon fined for leachate failure
Swindon Council has been fined over £10,000 after between 100,000 and 300,000 litres of leachate entered Lydiard Brook from a poorly managed council-run landfill site.

New COMAH policy
Oil and fuel depots across Britain must improve environmental and safety standards for the bulk storage of hazardous liquids, following the publication of a new containment policy in the wake of the Buncefield investigation.

Solving the skills crisis
Rob Bell casts a critical eye over the draft Brownfield Skills Strategy, developed by English Partnerships and the Academy for Sustainable Communities, and aimed at solving the brownfield skills crisis

Soil treatment fine
Wantage company Farntech has been ordered to pay £4,000 for illegal depositing and treating 900 tonnes of soil and mixed construction waste without a licence.

Pesticide remediation
Organophosphate-based pesticide and nerve agent contamination could become a thing of the past following the development of a decontamination agent that leaves non-toxic by-products by US chemists.

Remediation costs
Guidance on calculating the costs associated with remediating contaminated and derelict brownfield land has been published by English Partnerships, which said it “acknowledged that tackling the problems caused by dereliction can be as complex and often as expensive as treating or removing contamination”.

Oil tanks garden leak
Oil from storage tanks behind two industrial units in Bedfordshire contaminated the garden of a neighbouring house and polluted a nearby stream, magistrates heard.

Carlisle renaissance
The University of Cumbria has announced plans to develop its estate in Carlisle, which could include development of a campus dubbed Caldew Riverside on the contaminated 13-acre Viaduct Estate site between the river and the West Coast main line.

E-learning from CIRIA
CIRIA will develop the UK’s first e-learning platform for contaminated land practitioners in response to English Partnerships’ call for “a national brownfield web with e-learning capabilities” in its Draft Brownfield Skills Strategy.

Waste definition CoP
CL:AIRE is consulting on a draft voluntary code of practice it said would “answer the thorny question of when materials are waste, and when treated wastes cease to be waste”.

ELD consultation
The government is consulting on draft regulations for the transposition of the Environmental Liability Directive.

Seven years on the run
Peter James Fitzgerald has been sentenced to three months prison for what District Judge Daniel Curtis called “the worst case of fly-tipping I have ever seen”.

US brownfield funding
The US Environmental Protection Agency has announced $74 million in funding for its Brownfields Programme. The cash will be split between 43 states, two Native American tribes and two US territories.

Feb/March 2008 headlines (issue 17)

Rebate for St Donats homes
Cardiff Council has negotiated a council tax band reduction for residents of 110 homes affected by contamination in the St Donats Road area of Leckwith, after property values plummeted by £50-60,000.

HPA SGV u-turn
The Health Protection Agency has done an about-turn on the use of the excess lifetime cancer risk approach to risk assessment proposed in Defra’s Way Forward document on soil guideline values, despite having been heavily involved in developing the paper.

Stroud despairs of Defra funding
Stroud District Council is in discussions with potential contractors to go ahead with remediation of the former Painswick Gasworks.

Illegal landfills on the rise
Illegal landfills are springing up around the UK – and many will not be remediated – the Environment Agency has confirmed to CLB in the wake of two successful prosecutions.

Warrington appropriate person blunder
Warrington Council made just one simple legal blunder in its management of a contaminated land case, which has seen it censured by the Local Government Ombudsman.

ETV scoping study
CL:AIRE has been commissioned by the Environmental Knowledge Transfer Network to undertake a scoping study on the UK land, water, waste sectors’ opinions on environmental technology verification in response to the European Commission’s consultation paper on its proposals to “establish an EU-wide system, offering credible verification of the performance and the potential impacts on the environment of new technologies”.

Information systems
The European Commission is moving to “improve, modernise and streamline” systems for collecting, analysing and reporting environmental information with the aim of developing an internet database that will be available to the public in an “open and transparent way”.

Ravenscraig next WRAP project
The former Ravenscraig Steelworks in North Lanarkshire will be the next WRAP trailblazer project investigating how high quality compost can assist in the regeneration and remediation of brownfield sites.
l Visit www.wrap.org.uk

Nanotech to gain “green tinted halo”
This year could see the public’s “demonisation” of nanotechnology reversed and a “green-tinged halo could replace its horns” if environmental applications of nanoparticles are publicised effectively, according to Deloitte’s Technology Predictions TMT Trends 2008.
l The report can be downloaded from www.deloitte.com/dtt/article/0%2C1002%2Ccid%25253D187257%2C00.html

Improved sediment analysis
A new method that looks set to revolutionise the analysis of contaminants in sediment has been developed in the US.
l For a summary of the method (Designation D 7363 – 07) visit www.astm.org or www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/test/new-meth.htm#8272

Notorious Whittle Colliery up for auction
The former Whittle Colliery in Alnwick will be sold at auction on May 13 with a guide price of £4 million.

Yorkshire forum
The first meeting of the Yorkshire Contaminated Land Forum was held on 15 February at the University of Sheffield. The event focused on waste issues in land reclamation, and was attended by 90 representatives of organisations involved in all sectors of the land quality community in Yorkshire and beyond.

Centre of excellence
The West Midlands Centre of Excellence in Land Reclamation has been launched by RegenWM. The centre will aim to “encourage cross-professional and cross-sector dialogue with the goal of improving the supply of brownfield land into the development process”.

Permission for Banks but Fairgrove battles on at Cinderhill
Amber Valley Borough Council has granted outline planning permission for the proposed development of the Cinderhill Opencast Site in Denby [see CLBs passim].

Ensura launches low-cost policy
The UK’s first low-cost contaminated land insurance offering has been launched, according to mastermind Stephen Sykes. Ensura, a specialist environmental insurance intermediary, will provide indemnity-related services to legal professionals, and offer Terrafirm, a low-cost contaminated land policy for commercial property that covers purchasers, tenants and funders.
l Visit www.sykesenvironmental.com

Nitrates remediation
Northern Ireland’s First Minister Dr Ian Paisley has visited the ECOS Millennium Environmental Centre to see a natural system to remove nitrates from groundwater being developed by Nitrabar, a research project involving the University of Strathclyde and European partners.
l www.nitrabar.eu

Akzo Nobel site permission
Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council has granted planning permission for the second stage of remediation and redevelopment of the former Akzo Nobel site in Littleborough [see CLB 11].

Essex updates developer guidance
The second edition of Land Affected by Contamination: Technical Guidance for Applicants and Developers has been published by the Essex Contaminated Land Consortium.

Highland Council An Aird landfill probe
The Highland Council is investigating land at An Aird, Fort William, which was reclaimed by landfilling with materials including dredging, commercial and municipal waste.

Watercourse PPGs
The Environment Agency has published Pollution Prevention Guidelines providing advice on avoiding pollution of watercourses during construction works.
l http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/ppg

Soil chemistry book
The second edition of US publication The Soil Chemistry of Hazardous Materials is now available.
l www.aehs.com/publications/ordering.htm

Illegal landfill fine
Wilson Fulton of Randalstown has been convicted at Antrim Magistrates’ Court for offences under Waste Legislation and Contaminated Land (NI) Order 1997. ed £1,000 plus £172 costs.

WRAP dumps protocol
WRAP has confirmed to CLB that it will not go ahead with a contaminated land protocol, but will progress with a quality protocol for uncontaminated land. The abandoned protocol was one of five being considered by the organisation.

Derby investigates
Derby City Council will carry out further site investigations at Becket Primary School.

Deacon joins
Environ Samantha Deacon has joined Environ as a senior consultant in contaminated land, environmental impact assessment and other practices.

Improving Part 2A
Rob Bell reports on the conclusions of an Environment Agency-led workshop which set out to investigate how the faltering Part 2A regime can be revamped and revitalised

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January 2008 headlines (issue 16)

East Cambs admits fault as funding finally forthcoming
East Cambridgeshire District Council has finally received confirmation from Defra that it will receive a grant to part-fund remediation at Old School Close/Ponts Hill in Littleport.

Seaton Carew celebrates Defra grant win
Residents of Seaton Carew, outside Hartlepool, are celebrating after receiving Defra funding for remediation of their properties, following a three-year battle.

Cooper sets out new agency’s role
Housing minister Yvette Cooper has spelt out the role of the new Homes and Communities Agency in the House of Commons.

Holiday village voted down
Blackburn with Darwen councillors have refused planning permission for a £13 million holiday village scheme on a former illegal waste dump in Feniscowles.

St Michael’s golf course funding in place
Halton Borough Council has gained further funding for investigations at the St Michael’s golf course.

Appointments at EP
English Partnerships has expanded its specialist brownfield team, a move it said broadened the expertise it needs to assess brownfield sites and determine future developments.

Ecosystems approach
Defra has published an “action plan” it said sets a new direction for policy on the natural environment.

Soil Directive in disarray
The contents of the proposed Soil Framework Directive have caused concern across Europe, with governments, regulators, environmental groups, contractors and academics all expressing concerns that it would be too prescriptive and unworkable.

Olympic Park works intensify
The Olympic Delivery Authority has said that clearing and remediation of the Olympic Park is set to intensify as it prepares the site for the start of construction in summer.

Wolverhampton steelworks under way
Woodford Land has submitted a planning application for a redevelopment of the 10.4 acre former steelworks site bordering the Birmingham Canal in Wolverhampton.

Oil tank MOT
The Environmental Industries Commission has called for a “mandatory MOT” scheme to cover all commercial oil tanks over 200 litres. The EIC claimed this would cut oil spills by at least a third.

Tanker discharge fine
A tanker under contract to Lincolnshire County Council emptied its contents onto a grass verge between Manthorpe and Thurlby costing the company a £5,000 fine and £2,478 costs.

Soil mixing research underway
Dr Abir Al-Tabbaa of Cambridge University’s Department of Engineering has joined with eleven industrial partners in the £1.24m SMiRT (Soil Mix Remediation Technology) Project.

US GMO poplar trials approved
Researchers at Indiana’s Purdue University are following up the research on phytoremediation using transgenic poplars reported in last month’s CLB through collaboration with automobile manufacturer Chrysler to remediate a former oil storage facility near Kokomo in the state.

No to nanoparticles
The Soil Association has banned the use of man-made nanomaterials from all Soil Association certified organic products.

Transforming Teesside
The University of Teesside’s Clean Environment Management Centre (CLEMANCE) is to extend its BioReGen project following successful trials.

Solway monitoring
Specialist monitoring at several River Solway beaches has detected no Sellafield radioactive particles present.

Envirotreat funding
The Sustainable Technology Fund managed by E-Synergy has invested £1 million in contaminated soil and waste remediation specialist Envirotreat.

Remediation for Robin Bank
Blackburn with Darwen Council has secured funding from the Lancashire Remade programme to remediate the former gasworks site off Robin Bank Road in Darwen.

Cory opens soils landfill near Bristol
Cory Environmental has opened a landfill site at Shortwood near Bristol which will take contaminated soils. The site is licensed to take 200,000 tonnes of waste each year for ten years – two million cubic metres in total.

Thames Gateway CE
Joe Montgomery – currently director general for regions and communities at DCLG – has replaced Judith Armitt as chief executive of the Thames Gateway project.

EPUK website
The former NSCA has launched its new identity online at www.environmental-protection.org.uk.

Drigg fund
Residents in Copeland could soon be benefiting from a community fund negotiated with the government to recognise the service the borough provides to the nation by hosting the Low Level Waste Repository near the village of Drigg.

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December 2007 headlines (issue 15)

Cinderhill deferred again
Amber Valley Borough Council has once again been forced to defer a decision on the Cinderhill redevelopment.

Charity predator brought to book
A “charity predator” who conned organisations including a riding school for the disabled into accepting thousands of tonnes of demolition rubble contaminated with benzene and Japanese knotweed has been ordered to pay £12,000 in fines.

Defra team walks
Publication of soil guideline values looks likely to recede yet further beyond the horizon with the resignation of three of the four members of Defra’s contaminated land policy team.

Red river to run red no more
An Environment Agency trial to remove contamination from the Afon Goch – “Red River” – which runs from Parys Mountain on the Isle of Anglesey through the town of Parys Mountain, Anglesey, could mean the minewater-contaminated stream loses its historic colour.

Stroud left with the bill for gasworks site
Stroud District Council will pay for remediation of the former Painswick Gasworks to the tune of £35,000, “in light of withdrawn Defra funding”, the council’s cabinet has agreed.

Bubble trouble in Linwood
Renfrewshire Council has begun an investigation of the former Brediland Chemical Works and Sun Foundry sites in Linwood after black sludge bubbled to the surface on areas of open ground near a skatepark, sports centre and children’s park.

Government clears Bishopton proposals
The Scottish Government’s Examination in Public of proposals for the former Royal Ordinance Factory site at Bishopton [see CLB 1 and 5] has found “no evidence that there is contamination on the ROF site precludes identifying Bishopton as a Community Growth Area”.

Students conquer at GE machine awards
A team of University of Glasgow students has designed a self-powered biosensor, winning the environment section of the International Genetically Engineered Machine awards

Scotland land fears
As many as one in five residential properties in Scotland have been built directly on top of potentially contaminated land, according to environmental search provider Landmark Information Group.

Relief for Millom residents
Residents of Estuary Close and Lancashire Road in Millom are not living on contaminated land, Copeland Borough Council has announced, following an investigation by consultancy RSK.

GMO poplars hoover up hydrocarbons
Genetically engineered poplars have been shown to uptake and metabolise as much as 91% of trichloroethylene from a liquid solution, compared with just 3% for unaltered plants.

Wheal Maid tin mine waste
The Wheal Maid site at Gwennap near Redruth is contaminated with arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, zinc, lead and nickel, an Environment Agency investigation has found.

Warning on petrol tank removal
Trading Standards has intervened five times this year to ensure petrol tanks have been made safe, it said while calling for the rapid removal of disused petrol tanks from former garage sites as part of a county-wide campaign to minimise the risk of explosion and pollution.

Morgan joins Sirius Engineering
Professor Phil Morgan has joined the Sirius Engineering Group.

Park for Church
A Contaminated land in Church left derelict for a quarter of a century has been turned into a park and playing field by Lancashire County Council’s Remade in Lancashire programme.

Heavy metal impacts
Heavy metals in sewage sludge can damage microbial populations in soil, potentially damaging soil quality, long-term government research has found. The findings have implications for the spreading of sewage sludge on agricultural land, seen as preferable to landfilling or incineration, and carried out to increase nutrients and organic matter levels in soils.

Asbestos fine
The removal of asbestos from a garage at a house in Ken has landed two companies with fines after the waste was mixed with hazardous materials and taken to a landfill site.

Eroding cliff raises landfill fears
A former landfill site on an eroding sea-cliff is causing concern for Sunderland City Council, which called in the Environment Agency to investigate the Halliwell Banks site after reports waste was surfacing metres from the cliff face near Ryhope.

Blessed newt
Actor and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust president Brian Blessed (seen here accompanied by a great crested newt) has presented landscaping manufacturing company Marshalls with the Wildlife Trusts' Biodiversity Benchmark award. Marshalls' Maltby site is the first manufacturing operation to gain the accreditation.
l  www.biodiversitybenchmark.org

Arsenic affects genes
Researchers at MIT have found that the children of mothers exposed to arsenic through contaminated water supplies during pregnancy harbour gene expression changes that may lead to cancer and other diseases later in life.
l Published in PLoS Genetics. Visit http://genetics.plosjournals.org.

Strong directive call
The European Environment Bureau has called on the Environment Council not to weaken the contents of the proposed Soil Framework Directive ahead the meeting of environment ministers on 20 December.

Hazardous waste down
Less hazardous waste is being sent to landfill, 60% less than in 2004, and more of it is being treated and recycled, according to the Environment Agency.”
l www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Agency soil strategy
The Environment Agency has published a strategy aimed at protecting soils prioritising its work in a number of areas including “promoting good practice by industry to prevent new contamination of soils and working to clean-up existing contamination”.
l Visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/landquality/1730389/.

Steetley go-ahead
Laing O’Rourke’s proposals for a factory on the site of the former Baker Refractory Works at Steetley look set to proceed after district councillors from Bassetlaw and Bolsover agreed to back the plan.
l www.steetleyfuture.co.uk.

SHDC sees sense
South Holland District Council has decided against designating land at Tydd St Mary as a traveller site after concerns were raised by councillors and local residents that raw sewage was present just below the surface. Tydd St Mary Parish Council has previously refused to put allotments on the land on health grounds.

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November 2007 headlines (issue 14)

Brickworks blight lifted after two year investigation
A contamination investigation sparked by failed environmental searches at Dorking’s North Holmwood Estate has been completed by Mole Valley District Council.

Defra grants chaos
Local authorities have been given just one month to make applications under the the Contaminated Land Capital Projects scheme due to “budgeting and the design of the grant arrangements”, Defra has admitted to CLB.
l www.defra.gov.uk/environment/land/contaminated/index.htm

ODA to switch Olympics venue
Contamination has scuppered the Olympic canoe slalom site at Spitalbrook, adjacent to the Lee Valley Park. An alternative site nearby is now being considered.

Bonkers Part 2A BVPI bites the dust
The much-reviled contaminated land best value performance indicator has been scrapped in what the Local Government Association called “a bonfire of red tape” that saw the number of BVPIs slashed from over 1,000 to 198.

Acid tar report inconclusive
A hoped for Part 2A determination will not be forthcoming from the Environment Agency Wales’ investigation of acid tar contamination at the Llwyneinion lagoon near Rhosllanerchrugog.

Protests at Defra policy team transfer
Defra’s decision to transfer its contaminated land policy branch from the local environmental protection division to the environmental land management division has sparked a letter of protest from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and Environmental Protection UK to environment minister Jonathan Shaw.

Permission despite policy change
The Woodford Group has convinced Wyre Borough Council to grant outline planning permission for an 83-property housing development on a contaminated brownfield site in Poulton-Le-Fylde, despite a change in council policy demanding 40% affordable housing, double that required when Woodford acquired the site.

Salad herb solution to chromium VI
A University of Huddersfield student has identified a plant which hyper-accumulates hexavalent and trivalent chromium.

Brownfield skills review
Government has moved to address the desperate skills shortage in the brownfield sector with a national review “designed to identify the true extent of the perceived skills gap in the brownfield sector”, to be carried out for English Partnerships by the Academy for Sustainable Communities.
l Visit www.englishpartnerships.co.uk/publications.

Durham decision over-ruled
Remediation costs have led the government to overrule Durham County Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for a housing project on the heavily contaminated Cape Asbestos site at Bowburn.

All change at CL:AIRE
Both chief executive Jane Forshaw and chairman Phil Kirby are leaving CL:AIRE. Kirby is retiring from National Grid and stepping down as chair, while Forshaw is taking a position as head of environmental policy at English Partnerships.
l Anyone with an interest in either of the positions should contact Forshaw on 020 7258 5321 or executive search firm Odgers Ray & Berndtson on 020 7529 1079.

Mercury analyser
Quantitech has launched an addition to the Hydra range of mercury analysers: the Hydra-C.
l www.quantitech.co.uk.

Huntly remediation
Remediation under Part 2A of the former Huntly Gasworks in Aberdeenshire has been completed by Environmental Reclamation Services following the award of a £173,000 contract by Aberdeenshire Council.

Yorkshire forum
A Yorkshire Contaminated Land Forum has been launched, following on from the success of the North East forum.
l Contact andrew.dickinson @ BWB-consulting.com.

Radiation find
A gauge dial face painted with radium-based luminous paint has been found in the north of the Olympic Park site, along with other very low-level radioactive readings in small areas.
l www.london2012.com.

York research
A team of University of York scientists have successfully genetically engineered grasses that remediate land contaminated with RDX, the world’s most commonly used explosive.
l The research is published in the latest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Firth goes solo
Simon Firth, formerly of WorleyParsons Komex, is now an independent consultant working as Firth Consultants.
l Contact 07766 224363,

A greener greenbelt
Natural England has called for a review of greenbelt protection. Chair Sir Martin Doughty said: “The time has come for a greener green belt. We need a 21st century solution to England’s housing needs which puts in place a network of green wedges, gaps and corridors, linking the natural environment and people.”

CIRIA guidance
A revised edition of CIRIA’s guidance Setting-out procedures for the modern built environment has been published.
l www.ciriabooks.com.

EP research project
English Partnerships is commissioning research in the South East into ‘latent brownfield sites’ in order to establish why some previously developed land is not coming through for redevelopment.

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Oct 2007 headlines (issue 13)

HPA issues final all-clear for Leftwich housing estate
Resident of the Muir Housing Estate in Leftwich have received a final assurance by the Health Protection Agency that their homes and gardens are safe

Good news for Nottingham centre
Nottingham’s ambitious regeneration plans have moved a step forward after city leaders gave outline planning permission for the £390 million scheme, to be led by English Partnerships and ISIS.

AVBC defers Cinderhill decision
Amber Valley Borough Council has deferred its decision on the proposed remediation and redevelopment of the Cinderhill tarpits site near Denby.

Funding approval for Pontesbury costing
Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council has approved £40,000 in funding to carry out further investigations into contamination in eight gardens in the Shropshire village of Pontesbury.

Plymouth considers legal action
Plymouth City Council is considering legal action against Persimmon Homes after the developer ignored a four-week Stop Notice issued after works were started before soil investigations required under planning conditions were carried out.

Barnsley to remediate gasworks site
Contaminated land at a former gasworks and British Gas depot will be remediated as part of plans by Barnsley Council to build a bypass to cut congestion and improve air quality in the town’s Air Quality Management Areas.

£500m to accelerate house-building
A £500m package of proposals “to accelerate the building of the homes, ensuring that new homes are greener and the focus is on brownfield land,” has been announced by housing minister Yvette Cooper.

Young warns on skills and SFD
Environment Agency chief executive Baroness Barbara Young has highlighted the need to raise skill levels in the contaminated land sector in order to retain the UK's “pole position” in risk assessment in Europe.

Microbe shows biosensor potential
Australian researchers are investigating the potential of a water microbe to act as a biosensor.

Fine for coal-tar soil removal
The excavation and removal of coal-tar contaminated soils from a development site in Normanton has left Brian Stringer of Glasshoughton, Castleford and his company Brian Stringer Ltd with fines and costs totalling £25,000.

East Cambs still waiting for Defra funding
East Cambridgeshire District Council is still awaiting a decision from Defra regarding its funding application for remediation of the Littleport gasworks site

Soil link to foot and mouth outbreak
Soil contamination caused by leaking pipes led to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Surrey at the beginning of August, an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive has found.

Agency pursues fly-tippers
The Environment Agency has had success with two prosecutions relating to soil contamination due to fly-tipping in quick succession, with tens of thousands of pounds in fines and costs awarded.

Pre-Budget report promises reform
The future of the current exemption from Landfill Tax for waste arising from contaminated land and proposed changes to land remediation relief will be decided in the 2008 Budget, according to the pre-Budget Report presented by Chancellor Alistair Darling to the House of Commons.

EIC calls for clear guidance timetable
The “painfully slow progress” in publishing guidance on contaminated land risk assessment has been highlighted in a letter from the Environmental Industries Commission to environment minister Jonathan Shaw.

British Waterways
Three new members with specialist expertise in civil engineering/asset management and finance have been appointed to the board of British Waterways.

Gas detector rentals
Ashtead Technology Rentals has launched a new fleet of instruments designed specifically to detect toxic and hazardous gases arising in drains and underground cavities.

CRT re-appointment
Dawn Davies has been reappointed as the Welsh Assembly government’s nominated Wales director/trustee to the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. Deputy minister for regeneration Leighton Andrews said he was “delighted” she had agreed to continue her work with the Trust.

Edie awards
Consultancy Enviros has been nominated in seven categories for the Edie Awards for Environmental Excellence, including Best Consultancy for Contaminated Land alongside ERM, Atkins Environmental, Conestoga-Rovers & Associates and White Young Green Environmental.

HPA sports pitch info
The Health Protection Agency has issued advice on contamination of sports pitches following this summer’s flooding.
l Visit www.hpa.org.uk

SNIFFER projects
SNIFFER has called for expressions of interest in two new projects: WFD94 – WFD and Catchment Remediation Scoping Study and UKCC18 – Selection and validation of a suite of suitable screening techniques for the rapid assessment of hazardous properties of wastes.
l Visit www.sniffer.org.uk/search.asp

Glasgow regeneration
The regeneration of Glasgow’s canal corridor has reached a “major milestone” with the unveiling of the proposed masterplan for the area around Maryhill Locks.

Website launch
CL:AIRE has launched a new website, featuring a range of new online tools and services for the contaminated land community.
l Visit www.claire.co.uk

Dounreay relocations
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority officials are looking at a range of Dounreay-based services, including non-active laboratories and the asbestos team, that could be relocated off-site and “nurtured to form stand-alone business with a range of different customers”. “

VOC risk project
A project is being launched by CIRIA to analyse the risks of chemicals on contaminated land to human health.

Superfund extended
The US Environmental Protection Agency has added seven new hazardous waste sites to the Superfund list for investigation and clean-up.

Rushlight call
The Rushlight Awards scheme will close for entries on 31 October 2007.
l www.rushlightawards.co.uk

Correction
The article titled Testing methods scrutinised in the last issue [ CLB 12] should have referred to the Bioavailability Working Group as being a CL:AIRE initiative rather than associated with Defra.

Envirocheck update
November will see the launch of a new version of Landmark’s flagship Envirocheck desktop site investigation report, Richard Pawlyn, managing director of the company’s Property & Environment division, has told CLB.

France off the hook
The European Commission has suspended its decision to bring France before the European Court of Justice for a second time in a case for polluting drinking water abstraction points in Brittany with nitrates.

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Aug/Sep 2007 headlines (issue 12)

Managing Manywells
MWH has been awarded a three-year contract to provide the technical lead on remediation of the closed Manywells landflll site by City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council.

Brownfield stocks insufficient
The UK's brownfield land can only accommodate one million of the government’s planned three million new houses, even if city parks and back gardens are included, according to the Social Market Foundation.

Rogers in action
City of York Council has responded to the findings of the Rogers Review of Local Authority Regulatory Priorities, part of the government’s Better Regulation drive [see CLB 7, March] following a meeting of its neighbourhood services panel.
l Visit www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ regulation/documents/rogers_review/rogers_poster.pdf

York contamination widespread
Contamination is widespread across the 80-acre York Central site destined for a huge redevelopment project, a draft area action plan for the York North-West development, prepared for the City of York Council by planning consultancy Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners has found.

Nature reserve opens at Avenue site
The Avenue Washlands Nature Reserve has been opened on one of the most contaminated sites in Western Europe, the 98 hectare Avenue Coking Works near Chesterfield.

Testing methods scrutinised
Uncertainties about the validity and use of bioaccessibility testing are to be addressed by the formation of an expert panel, which will produce a guidance document for practitioners and instigate and guide research in the area.

Mushroom promises metals remediation
A global effort to sequence the genome of Agaricus bisporus – the common mushroom of the full English breakfast – could lead to a new method of bioremediating metals-contaminated soils, according to Dr Mike Challen of the University of Warwick, which is co-ordinating the project.

Nene land jigsaw complete
Fenland District Council has “completed the jigsaw” of land acquisitions necessary for the Nene Waterfront Regeneration project to begin.

Clean up for Rochdale bus station site
Remediation and flood defences work to the tune of £800,000 will commence in preparation for building of a multi-million pound public transport interchange in Rochdale, the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority has announced.

Sellafield clean-up commences
Serco Assurance, in partnership with Golder Associates, has been awarded a £10m two-year contract to examine and develop plans to clean up contaminated land at Sellafield.

Marina project
A scheme to develop a marina and 800 home development in King’s Lynn has been approved by councillors. Work will now begin to put together an outline planning application, along with environmental and transport assessments before the project can move forward.

Consent for Kirkstall Forge
Leeds City Council has granted planning consent for redevelopment of the former Kirkstall Forge, three miles north west of the city centre.

Directive consultation
The government has issued a consultation on the proposed EU Soil Framework Directive and initial Regulatory Impact Assessment, designed to assist in developing a robust negotiating position on the proposed directive.

ISO standard 17924
The ISO committee on soil quality is developing a standard on “assessment of human exposure from ingestion of soil and soil material – guidance on the application and selection of physiologically based extraction methods for the estimation of the human bioaccessibility/ bioavailability of metals in soils”.

Asbestos case assets frozen
Restraint orders to freeze properties owned by a Bradford man jailed for dumping asbestos have been obtained by the Assets Recovery Agency, working in partnership with the Environment Agency, which told CLB: “This is a good win for the Agency, legitimate businesses and the environment – and shows we’re using all the tools at our disposal to crackdown on these criminals.”

NSCA calls out HPA on brownfield claim
The NSCA has written to Health Protection Agency chief executive Pat Troop to protest against her claim that knowledge of health effects of contaminants is “very limited”.

LK Group recruits
Environmental land consultancy LK Group has boosted its technical team with the appointment of Dr Paul Quimby as senior geoenvironmental scientist.

Glasgow canals
The regeneration of Glasgow’s canal corridor has “reached a major milestone” with the publication of the proposed masterplan for the area around Maryhill Locks.

The quarry quandary
Brofiscin Quarry was identified as heavily contaminated in 2003, yet investigations into possible human health risks are still going on.

Barking
Barking Riverside, the joint venture between Bellway and English Partnerships, has announced the receipt of planning consent following the signing of the Section 106 agreement with the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham.

Agency factsheet
The Environment Agency has published a factsheet for the contaminated land sector setting out changes to landfill regulations due to come into force from 30 October.
l The factsheet is available to download at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/landfilldirective or by calling 0870 8506 506.

PPP schools deal
West Dunbartonshire Council has granted outline planning permission for a controverdsial £100 million PPP school-building scheme, despite concerns over land contamination on one of the sites that would become part of two ‘super-schools’ if the plan goes ahead.

Asbestos burial fine
A developer and a Brotherton man have been fined £1,500 after being found guilty of burying asbestos on a site known as Bunkers Hill in Brotherton, south east of Leeds.

Welsh guidance
Welsh environment, sustainability and housing minister Jane Davidson has published draft planning Technical Advice Note 17 Planning and Managing Development for public consultation.

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July 2007 headlines (issue 11)

The fate of the contaminated land best value performance indicators looks to have been sealed, with the Lifting the Burdens Taskforce review of Defra recommending their immediate removal, and no sign of a land quality indicator in the Defra consultation on the new performance framework for local government.
l The Defra consultation on a new performance framework runs until 16 August. Visit www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localgovindicators/index.htm

SGVs: way forward still unclear
It may not be possible to provide a full set of soil guideline values, Defra head of local environmental protection Sue Ellis has told the Environmental Industries Commission’s National Land Remediation Conference.

Strategy at last
English Partnerships’ National Brownfield Strategy has finally been submitted to government.
l Visit www.english partnerships.org.uk

Floodplain tip site project
Woking Council has gained planning permission for a project which will lead to the remediation of the contaminated Westfield Tip, a goal the council has been seeking since 1989.

Akzo Nobel site to become wetland reserve
The first stage of redevelopment of the former Akzo Nobel chemical works in Littleborough, Greater Manchester, has been approved.

Campaigner under attack
Countryside Properties has pulled out of the proposed redevelopment of the former Turners Brothers asbestos factory, leading landowners MMC Developments and Rathbone Jersey to publicly attack local opposition to the scheme, led by Jason Addy of the Save Spodden Valley campaign.

Agency launches landfill data tool
A CD-based tool to provide local planning authorities with data on former landfill sites has been launched by the Environment Agency.

Inquiry into Cranleigh plans
An Inquiry into proposals for the remediation and redevelopment of the contaminated former Cranleigh Brick and Tile Works has been scheduled for 30 October, CLB has learned.

Continuous gas monitoring device
A continuous gas monitoring device developed by Salamander looks set to improve investigation, assessment and monitoring on contaminated brownfield sites.
l www.gasclam.co.uk

Welsh Assembly splashes out
The Welsh Assembly has allocated nearly £2 million for site investigation and remediation of 43 local authority and Environment Agency projects.

Dumped caustic soda contamination
Forty tonnes of contaminated soil has been removed from a carpark at Castle Hills, east of Leeds, following the fly-tipping of a large amount of caustic soda, the Environment Agency has said.

Stockport tests at bleachworks site
Stockport Council has begun testing for contamination on the site of a former Sykes & Co bleachworks.

Scottish soil hospital
Shanks Waste Management has opened a soil treatment centre licensed to treat up to 200,000 tonnes per annum, located near Falkirk, Scotland.

Looking for answers
Pioneering research into the impact of contaminants on sheep may hold important lessons in terms of human health. But it’s not easy, as CLB discovers

Chorley remediation
Contaminated silt will be removed and mineshafts filled and capped in Chorley’s Big and Copperworks woods, in a £588,000 project to begin in September.

Bawtry remains a quandary
The House of Lords had ruled in National Grid Gas’ appeal in the Bawtry gasworks case. CLB analyses the consequences of their decision

Stock transfer checks
Ground investigations are to be carried out at seven sites around Inverclyde as part of a housing stock transfer process.

Call to protect Scottish soils
Scotland’s soils are coming under threat from a range of human activities which may impair clean drinking water supplies, wildlife habitats and agriculture, according to Dr Colin Campbell, head of soil research at Aberdeen’s Macaulay Institute.

Awards scheme
An award for “the most significant technological development or innovation that prevents, reduces or treats pollution or other such contamination on land” has been launched as part of the Rushlight Awards, a new scheme intended to “celebrate” UK and Irish achievements in environmental technology and innovation.
l www.rushlightawards.co.uk

Newlands funding
An additional £36 million has been granted for the Newlands programme.

Developer spells out barriers to progress
Landowners blocking redevelopment and a “lack of positive planning” from local authorities are the biggest barriers to contaminated land remediation and redevelopment, Anthony Glossop, chair of St Modwen Properties, has told a Environmental Industries Commission conference.

Clydesdale go-ahead
North Lanarkshire Council has granted planning permission for Banks Developments’ £110m plan to regenerate the site of the former Clydesdale steel works near Motherwell. The redevelopment will involve the remediation of contaminated land followed by the construction of over 500 homes.

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June 2007 headlines (issue 10)

Dioxins in soils fall by 70% as regulation takes effect
A study has found that concentrations of dioxins have fallen by about 70% since the late 1980s when restrictions on emissions from major industries were introduced.

White paper conflict
The government has published its planning white paper Planning for a Sustainable Future, amidst claims it would lead to anything but.

Garden lead find in Shropshire
Eight gardens in Pontesbury, Shropshire are contaminated with lead “several orders of magnitude above government limits”, an investigation for Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council by consultancy Enviros has discovered.

Permission granted despite opposition
Epping Forest District Council has granted outline planning permission for a 119 home development on a greenfield site contaminated with asbestos on its border with the London Borough of Waltham Forest, despite an objection from the neighbouring council.

Ground gas training
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health is holding a series of workshops titled Contaminated land training: ground gas practical guidance in conjunction with the release of the Ground Gas Handbook, a new technical guidance document “for contaminated land and building control officers who carry out and review ground gas assessments and oversee appropriate control and protection measures”.
l Visit www.cieh.org.

Carlisle investigation
Plans for a 132 home development in Carlisle have been withdrawn pending contaminated land investigations of the former landfill site.

Dirty drains warning
 One in five homes and businesses have drains illegally connected to clean water drainage systems causing groundwater pollution and damaging rivers and lakes, according to a report published by the Environment Agency.

Chemicals ban boosts otters
Otter populations are recovering as banned pesticides break down in soils, according to Environment Agency research. Scientists will now investigate the impacts of polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ether.

Unprecedented concern over £4bn directive
Implementation of the Soil Framework Directive could cost the UK nearly £4 billion in development of a contaminated land register alone, with the cost of blight “unquantified”, an SFD stakeholder workshop meeting has been told.

Lords attack nuclear plans
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has attacked the government’s proposals for the next phase of the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely programme, calling it “incoherent and opaque”.

Emap moves on Groundsure
Media giant Emap is to acquire environmental search company Groundsure for a total of £34 million. Financial Services Authority approval is all that is required for the purchase to go ahead.

Doubts over dredging effectiveness
Dredging of contaminated sediments from watercourses may not “reduce the long-term risks sediments pose to people and wildlife”, a research project by the US National Research Council has found.

York reopens Fulford Cross
City of York Council has reopened the Fulford Cross allotments [see CLB 4], following a contamination investigation.

Biffa to open south east soil clinic
The first soil hospital to serve the London and south east markets will open at the Colnbrook landfill near Slough in September. The construction of the ex situ contaminated soil treatment centre will double Biffa’s capacity to deal with contaminated soils, the company said.

Re-use planned for canal silt
Works to remediate a 315-metre section of the derelict Hereford and Gloucester canal is taking place as part of the development of Aylestone Park.

Imported soils remediation complete
Southampton City Council has re-opened the Radcliffe Road South allotments following a remediation project funded by Defra and a Section 106 agreement with developers of an adjacent housing project.

The problem with soil hubs
Soil hubs where contaminated soils could be treated for re-use have been hailed as the solution to landfill. But where are they?

Biodegradable ban
The government is considering banning biodegradable waste from landfill sites as part of a new strategy.

Landfill guidance
The Environment Agency has published a factsheet to help landfill operators understand their role when changes to landfill regulations come into play later this year.
l Call 08708 506 506.

Clean soil reuse
Clean soil from greenfields and development sites has been selected as one of five waste streams to be the focus of the second year of the Waste Protocols project, a partnership project between industry, the Environment Agency and WRAP aimed at making the waste easier to recycle and reuse.

LBRO appointments
Graham Russell has been appointed chief executive of the newly established Local Better Regulation Office, effective from 1 September. Hilary Armstrong, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster also announced the appointment of seven board members. The appointees will work with recently appointed chairman Clive Grace. Armstrong said: “The success of this new organisation will depend on the drive, dynamism and creativity of these senior staff and I am confident they can do it. They have the wealth of experience and skill between them that can deliver substantial benefits for business, local authorities, consumers and the economy.” The LBRO will “work to deliver significant reductions in the burdens of regulation on compliant businesses and help local authorities focus on the rogue businesses most likely to be breaking regulations, with a remit initially covering local authority trading standards and environmental health services”. HBF calls for housing secretary role The Home Builders Federation has called for a secretary of state for housing, as part of a mini-manifesto it said would “help to address the chronic shortage of over 60,000 homes per year facing this country”. The HBF’s main demand is for more land to be made available for development. Consultancy expands Contaminated land specialist WD Environmental has expanded to new premises at both its head office in Hertfordshire and satellite office in Derbyshire, and embarked on a recruitment programme. “We’ve been surprised with the increasing demand for our services,” managing director Simon Ware said. “We’ve recruited four new people in recent months.”
l www.wdenvironmental.com.

LRT takes on 200ha
English Partnerships has placed around 200 hectares of land under the management of the Land Restoration Trust.
Morgan buys Wolves
Steve Morgan, chairman of contaminated land redevelopment specialist Harrow Estates, is taking over Championship football team Wolves, in a deal where he will buy 100% of president Sir Jack Hayward’s shares for £10, on condition of a £30 million investment in the club.

Ground engineering
A new CIRIA project, embedding sustainability in ground engineering solutions (P2505) will “review the techniques currently undertaken in ground engineering contained within published CIRIA guidance to assess the sustainability credentials of these techniques and investigate how they can be adapted to meet changing perceptions”.
l www.ciria.org.

Wiseman move
Environmental and contaminated land law specialist Andrew Wiseman has left Trowers & Hamlin for Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons, in order to head the company’s environment group.
Visit www.bllaw.co.uk.

Demand on tarpits
The Environment Agency has asked Amber Valley Borough Council to make sure that any planning permission for the Cinderhill development “includes enforceable conditions, which ensure that the whole site is properly investigated and any contamination is dealt with”.

LGA landfill warning
The Local Government Association has warned that landfill space will run out within nine years unless recycling rates are raised. An area the size of Warwick, which covers 109 square miles, is already taken up by landfill, the LGA said. Chairman Sandy Bruce-Lockhart said: “The huge amount of rubbish that is thrown into landfill is a deeply worrying unwelcome headache that is bad for the environment, bad for homes nearby and bad for the council taxpayer.”

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May 2007 headlines (issue 9)

Copeland Council under fire after planning blunder
Copeland Borough Council has come under fire after ordering an investigation into arsenic and land gas (methane and carbon dioxide) contamination on a partly-developed estate in Millom, after it emerged that the Environment Agency had advised the council that a detailed investigation should be required before planning permission was given in March 2003.

Nematode adaption
Soil contamination leads to rapid genetic adaption in the nematode Acrobeloides nanus, raising questions about the suitability of nematodes and other micro-organisms in contaminated land assessment, Dutch-sponsored PhD student Agnieszka Doroszuk has found.

Residents protest
Residents of Harrington Road in South Norwood are protesting against the granting on appeal of planning permission to build houses and flats on the site of a former sewage works they claim is contaminated.

HBF: we need more land
More land must be made available for development if sustainable housing targets are to be met, the House Builders Federation has warned: even if it means building on more greenfield sites.

Second developer moves on tarpits
A second developer has stepped in to take on the heavily contaminated Cinderhill tarpits site, CLB has been told.

Wandle Park project
Croydon Council has announced a £1m Section 106 agreement with Barratt Homes as part of the remediation and redevelopment of a former British Gas site on the Purley Way, despite the fact that the company is currently in breach of its planning permission, CLB has learnt.

Oversight leads to Omagh fine
Omagh District Council has stumbled into a £6,000 fine under the Waste & Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 after failng to gain permission to use waste material for infilling on an area of land adjacent to council-owned playing fields at Strathroy.

Fears on arsenic-laced dust effects
Over 720 square miles of land is contaminated with arsenic in the south west of England, more than half in West Cornwall, Jo Barnes of the Cornwall Air Quality Forum has told a meeting of the Institute of Environment and Health. The comtamination arose from past mining activity.

Radioactive waste
The Environment Agency has carried out an assessment of the potential radiological impact of the disposal of large quantities of very low level solid radioactive waste in sites built to conventional landfill site standards.

Ground gas research
CIRIA is embarking on a research project to develop guidance on the assessment of health risk from the inhalation of ground gases in indoor and ambient air.

Young offenders centre okay
A proposed extension to the young offender institution in Portland looks likely to go ahead after the Environment Agency withdrew its objections on contamination grounds and further investigations ordered by councillors found no risk.

WRAP continues compost trials
The second phase of a project trialling the use of compost in regenerating land following remediation at a former Royal Ordnance Munitions factory at Chorley has been launched by WRAP. The project will also explore the carbon sequestration benefits of using compost in manufacturing topsoil.

Argyll chemical spill
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has been forced to remove contaminated soil from the site of a chemical spill in the Kilmelford area of Argyll. The spill came about when a lorry lost part of its cargo, resulting in up to 1,000 litres of formic acid spilling into the Oude Dam.

Radioactive sheep
Three reports on the monitoring of sheep on farms that remain under post-Chernobyl restrictions have been published by the Food Standards Agency.

Leftwich cancers report due
Consultancy RSK has made the innovative move of involving residents of a site under investigation for contamination issues in the development of parameters for exposure assessment.

Warning on engineered nanoparticles
Napier University’s Vicki Stone has warned that engineered nanoparticles used in land remediation have unknown health risks.

Business rate relief
Local Government Minister Phil Woolas has published legislation aimed at encouraging empty shops, offices, factory and warehouse buildings back into commercial use as part of a package “to create thriving urban centres, renovate empty buildings and promote greater use of brownfield land”.

Silage warning
The Environment Agency has appealed to farmers to make sure they avoid creating any pollution problems when making silage this season.

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April 2007 headlines (issue 8)

Courtaulds clean-up agreed
Wolverhampton City Council and Akzo Nobel have announced a project to destroy the carbon disulphide found at the site of the former Courtaulds factory.

Halton determines golf course
Halton Borough Council has issued a Part IIA determination on the northern section of its municipal golf course, St Michael’s Jubilee in Widnes [see CLB 3].

Heavy metal sheep
Dr Jennifer Sneddon of Liverpool John Moores University has carried out a pilot study to assess the use of upland sheep wool as a bio-monitoring device for natural levels of heavy metals in the Lake District and Wales, the Society for Experimental Biology’s annual meeting in Glasgow heard.

Crest appeals notice
Redland Minerals and housebuilder Crest Nicholson have appealed against a remediation notice served by the Environment Agency in November 2005 relating to land at the St Leonard's Court development in Sandridge, Hertfordshire.

French team cracks tin leachates
Dr David Amouroux and a team at the University of Pau in Southern France have devised a strategy to analyse and quantify alkylated tin compounds arising from landfill sites.

Test Valley notes 1,800 sites
Test Valley Borough Council has published an updated contaminated land strategy after an initial five-year programme of inspections resulted in the identification of over 1,800 sites of potential concern.

Fenland wins Nene Parade CPO case
Fenland District Council has won a Compulsory Purchase Order for the remaining derelict land on the Nene Parade in Wisbech [see CLB 4], paving the way for redevelopment of the contaminated site to commence.

Oldham loses judicial review
A judicial review of planning permissions granted by Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council allowing the demolition of homes in the Derker ward of Oldham as part of a Pathfinder regeneration project has been won by members of the Derker Community Action Group.

Agency consults on groundwater regs
The Environment Agency has launched a consultation into proposals to encourage the sustainable operation of ground source heat pumps, in order to help prevent groundwater pollution.

Resources may limit checks
Pendle Borough Council has identified a total of 1,035 sites of potential concern as part of its Part IIA inspection strategy.

CLARET project begins in Stamford
A world-first research project between South Kesteven District Council, site regeneration specialists VHE Group, Interkonsult and the British Geological Survey has begun at the contaminated Wharf Road car park site in Stamford.

Glasgow investment
An £86 million investment for housing and regeneration in Glasgow has been announced by council leader Steven Purcell and new communities minister Rhona Brankin.

New UWE conditions New conditions regulating the amount of radioactive waste disposal from the two Atomic Weapons Establishments run by AWE have come into force.

Superfund sites
The US Environmental Protection Agency has added five new hazardous waste sites that pose risks to human health and the environment to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites.

Saga of the terrible tarpits
CLB investigates the ongoing saga of the Cinderhill tarpits, a heavily contaminated site that has been the focus of much controversy for Amber Valley Borough Council

Site waste plans
Defra has launched a consultation on site waste management plans for the construction industry.

Gases guidance
The National House-Building Council has published guidance on best practice in dealing with sites where ground gases are present.
l www.nhbcbuilder.co.uk

Luneside consultation
Lancaster City Council is consulting residents on a detailed planning application for the contaminated Luneside East site in the centre of the city.

Portable analyser
Quantitech has launched a portable FTIR multicomponent gas analyser, the Gasmet Dx-4030.

Research report
CL:AIRE Project RP18 Optimising Biopile Processes is now available from the Project PROMISE website. l www.promisebiorem.info

Colliery funding
A regeneration project at the historic colliery at Chatterley Whitfield has gained £3 million in funding to safeguard some of the site’s iconic buildings, English Heritage chairman Sir Neil Cossons has announced

Agency objects
The Environment Agency has objected to a planning application by Veolia Environmental Services for a proposed landfill site at Rock Common Sandpit, Washington, in West Sussex.

Hazards advice
The Health and Safety Executive has introduced a new way to obtain advice on planned developments near major hazard sites and pipelines.

Radioactive gases 
A new UK policy for managing solid low level radioactive waste has been published.
l www.defra.gov.uk/environment/radioactivity/waste/index.htm.

Gasworks to go ahead
Proposals to redevelop the contaminated Lostock Hall gasworks look set to go ahead.

Coalfield successes
More than 16,000 jobs have been created in former coalfield areas over the last ten years and “4,500 football pitches’ worth of previously derelict contaminated land” has been put back into use, according to government research.

Nuclear emissions
New limits on the amount of radioactive waste that can be discharged into the environment have been set for the two nuclear power stations at Heysham in Lancashire.

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March 2007 headlines (issue 7)

Risk forces Bradford plea
The City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council has pleaded guilty to a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive that highlights the need for health and safety risk assessments to be carried out on contaminated sites.

SBC: press reports have facts wrong
Scottish Borders Council has responded to “factual inaccuracies in relation to the Violet Bank and Kingsland Square areas of Peebles” in press reports relating to the proposed replacement site for Kingsland Primary School.

PCB breakthrough
Polychlorinated biphenyl remediation could be transformed through the use of a bacterium, American researchers believe.

Review shuns land issues
A high-level government review of local authority regulatory priorities has seen contaminated land left off a list of five national priorities.

Treasury consults on remediation relief
HM Treasury has published a consultation on brownfield land tax incentives as part of this year’s Budget.

Support given to ‘one number’ SGVs
Both the Environmental Industries Commission and the National Society for Clean Air have backed the government’s proposal in its Way Forward document on soil guideline values for the publication of one set of numbers for use in both Part IIA and planning determinations.

Weymouth denies QinetiQ application
Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s planning and traffic committee has denied QinetiQ outline planning permission to demolish existing buildings on the breakwater off Newton’s Road and build a hotel, 110 apartments, a restaurant and other businesses on the site.

Highland Council investigates smelter
Highland Council has carried out an investigation of a former aluminium works in Foyers, Inverness-shire, currently in use as a hydroelectric power station, to establish if contamination is present.

Strategy “thin and ambiguous”
Contaminated land expert Andrew Hursthouse of the University of Paisley has raised his fears about the proposed EU Soil Strategy at the NSCA spring contaminated land update in Birmingham.

Cardiff to test vegetable uptake
Over 100 residents of St Donats Road, Leckwith, Cardiff have met councillors at a public meeting to discuss lack of progress in the remediation of the former landfill site.

Agency acts on south west sites
The Environment Agency has carried out investigations into contamination on two sites in the south west.

More angst for Amber Valley
The application to build at Cinderhill in Denby [see CLB 5] will not be determined until later this year, Amber Valley District Council has announced. The news follows the approval of a draft development brief for the site early this year.

Summer start for Littleport works
Remediation of the blighted Old School Close site in Littleport [see CLB 5] is now expected to begin in the summer.

SEERA slams planning policy
The South East England Regional Assembly has spoken out to criticise the exclusion of windfall sites in future housing planning in Planning Policy Statement 3.

Ellesmere Port contamination alert
An independent investigation is being carried out by Ellesmere Port & Neston Borough Council into a “mystery” black substance leached from the ground in a back garden in Ellesmere Port following heavy rain, CLB has been told.

Derelict land decreases despite discoveries
The amount of derelict land and urban vacant land in Scotland fell between 2002 and 2006, according to the Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2006, despite local authorities identifying 329 new sites.

Landfill guidance
The Environment Agency has published guidance to help business and industry meet the changes to landfill regulations which come into play later this year.

Fungi discovery
Scientists have been able to prove that bacteria are capable of travelling through the soil on the mucous membranes of living fungi.

Knotweed research
A CIRIA project will evaluate the environmental and economic impact of invasive plant and alien animal species; describe how to identify them; list relevant legislation and explain the best control of method for each species.

Consultancy move
Engineering and environmental consultancy Egniol Cyf is is to refurbish the former school building at Penmaenmawr, Conwy, into a new headquarters for the company, which employs 125 people based at offices in Bangor, Cheshire and Derbyshire, with support from the Welsh Assembly.

Site request
CL:AIRE is seeking a suitable site for a technology demonstration project with a project aim of demonstrating an in situ soil heating using radiofrequency (RF) technology in a field trial at a site contaminated with volatile/semi-volatile organic compounds.

Glasgow investment
An £86 million investment for housing and regeneration in Glasgow has been announced by council leader Steven Purcell and new communities minister Rhona Brankin.

New AWE conditions
New conditions regulating the amount of radioactive waste disposal from the two Atomic Weapons Establishments run by AWE have come into force.

SNIFFER report
The results of the National Soil Monitoring Network Review and Assessment Study have been published by SNIFFER.

Greenbelt statistics
Local Planning Authorities Green Belt Statistics: England 2006 has been published by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Metals framework
The US Environmental Protection Agency has produced a document that “lays out the latest and best science available on metals risk assessment”.

Guidance delay
Publication of additional Environment Agency guidance to complement The Definition of waste: developing greenfield and brownfield sites, published in April last year,

Buncefield impacts
Groundwater under and up to two kilometres to the north, east and south east of the Buncefield fire site has been contaminated with hydrocarbons and fire fighting foams, results from the installation of additional monitoring boreholes have shown, according to the Environment Agency.

Coalfield investment
A £20m investment is be made in the government’s National Coalfields Programme by English Partnerships.

Portadown project
Northern Ireland’s minister for social development David Hanson has announced plans to develop proposals for the regeneration of the vacant Curran Street site in Portadown.

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Jan/Feb 2007 headlines (issue 6)

Record grant for Renfrewshire Royal Inch gasworks clean up
Renfrewshire Council has received a record grant for remediation of homes in Royal Inch Crescent in Renfrew as part of £8 million in funding for the clean up of specific sites from the Scottish Executive.

Communities England
The government has announced a merger between English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation and a range of functions carried out by the Department of Communities and Local Government.

Tar pits approval despite opposition
Amber Valley Borough Council’s planning board has approved a draft development brief for the Cinderhill site at Denby with minor changes.

All clear in Norwich scare
The Thorpe Park estate in Norwich is neither contaminated land or a special site, the Environment Agency has found following an investigation. Residents of the estate have been waiting over six months for the results of trials.

Falkirk opens Summerford park
A former industrial site at Summerford, near Falkirk, which has lain dormant for nearly forty years, has undergone £1 million of remediation and redevelopment and has been opened to the public.

Relief at last for Seaton Carew
Hartlepool Borough Council hopes to begin remediation of contaminated gardens in Seaton Carew in June, following an indication from Defra that grant money will be forthcoming.

NI minister raises contamination issues
Contaminated land offers both opportunities and challenges for Northern Ireland, environment minister David Cairns has told a conference in Belfast.

Soil strategy discussion paper
NICOLE has published a discussion paper concerning the European Commission’s communication on its proposed soil thematic strategy.

Oakdene withdraws Lewes port proposal
A planning application for the regeneration of the marina and railway areas of Newhaven by developer Oakdene Homes. Possible land contamination was one of the reasons cited by Lewes District Council for the rethink.

Mobile treatment plant licence for REC
REC Remediation has been awarded a Mobile Treatment Plant licence for the treatment of contaminated material, substance or products, for the purpose of remedial action with respect to land or waters, the company has announced.

Cycle path hold up on fatal road
A cycle path planned for an East Sussex road has stalled due to contamination issues, despite the death of a cyclist over a year after the council identified the need for action.

Minewater remediation technology
A device for removing metals pollution from water leaving disused mines has been designed at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

Steel slag to rehabilitate colliery spoil
Steel slag dust could be used to remediate contaminated land with high acidity, following research carried out by Birmingham University and Tarmac.

Stirling fined for leachate discharge
Stirling Council has been fined £7500 for discharging excessive amounts of contaminated leachate from its Lower Polmaise landfill site into a river.

Quarry restoration
A “virtual time machine” has been developed to help communities discover the restoration potential of their local quarry.

Superfund report
The US Environmental Protection Agency has published its latest performance figures for the Superfund land remediation programme. Work was completed at 40 sites during the 2006 financial year to bring the total of remediated sites to 1,006.

Best value or bad maths?
The future of the controversial contaminated land best value performance indicator up in the air.

Agency verification consultation
The Environment Agency is seeking responses to its latest consultation document, CLR11 (2004) Verification of remediation of land contamination.
l www.claire.co.uk.

Ground gases guidance published
CIRIA has published Assessing risks posed by hazardous ground gases to buildings, a good practice site handbook to help in the assessment of hazardous ground gases generated from landfills, brownfield sites, coalmines, petrol stations and solvent spillages, as well as gases generated naturally on greenfield sites. l www.ciria.org

Tamdown move
Civil engineering firm the Tamdown Group has moved its western regional office from Basingstoke to new premises at Maidenhead.
l www.tamdown.com

Technical bulletin
CL:AIRE has published (TB5) - The use of geophysical investigation techniques in the assessment of contaminated land and groundwater.
l www.claire.co.uk

Agency to remove knotweed soil
The Environment Agency will remove 7,500 tonnes of soil contaminated with knotweed dumped in Reydon Marshes in Suffolk following a public outcry.

Pit project website
The Michael Shanly Group has set up a website to address local concerns over proposals to build homes on the Badnell’s Pit in Maidenhead.
l Visit www.badnellspit.com

Market report MSI
Marketing Research for Industry has published Data report: contaminated land UK, which “analyses the UK market for contaminated land assessment and remediation for a five year review period (2002-2006) and a five year forecast period up until 2011”.
l Visit www.msi-marketingresearch.co.uk

Compost survey
The Waste & Resources Action Programme has signed contracts with four trailblazer projects to investigate the potential for using quality compost in brownfield land regeneration.

Asbestos stalls factory construction
A planned £2.5m factory in Barrow is on hold following the discovery of asbestos in the ground. Brownfield guide English Partnerships’ Brownfield guide: a practitioner’s guide to land reuse in England is now available.
l For more information go to www.englishpartnerships.org.uk/publications.htm

Road to provide brownfield access
Somerset Highways has begun preliminary work on the Northern Inner Distributor Road, a key element of the major regeneration strategy for Taunton that will provide access to “significant areas of brownfield land for re-development”, according to Somerset County Council.

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December 2006 headlines (issue 5)

Littleport determination at last
East Cambridgeshire District Council has made a Part IIA determination on a former gasworks site that has been the subject of ongoing controversy in the town of Littleport since February 2003.

PPS 3 Housing
The government has published Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing, which housing minister Yvette Cooper said will “tackle obstacles in the planning system which mean that not enough suitable sites are available to deliver the homes families need”.

Generic assessment criteria launch
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and consultancy Land Quality Management have launched a set of generic assessment criteria for contaminants for which no soil guideline values yet exist.

Tyneside green business park
Plans to go ahead with the development of the Hebburn-Jarrow Green Business Park at the heavily contaminated former Durastic site on the banks of the Tyne are moving ahead, according to South Tyneside Council.

Fine for contaminated soil disposal
The illegal disposal of contaminated soil has led to the successful prosecution of a North Lanarkshire company after it failed to ensure that documentation correctly identified the material.

£2 million for mobile home park clean up
Remediation of a contaminated mobile home part in Eynesbury will cost Huntingdonshire County Council almost £2 million.

Scotland consults on environmental law
Scotland has published proposals to improve the enforcement of environmental law – including that covering contaminated land – in a consultation paper which “looks at ways in which the criminal justice system could work better”, according to the Scottish Executive.

Surprise asbestos find in Norwich
Residents of the Thorpe Park estate in Norwich are awaiting test results after an investigation into possible groundwater contamination on the site found evidence of the presence of asbestos.

Antibiotics contaminate agricultural soils
German research is raising worrying questions about contamination from the spreading of liquid manure on agricultural soils.

Award for Biffa STC
Biffa Waste Services has one the best new service award at the NCE innovation awards at Civils 2006.

Natural remediation
The Zander Corporation has launched ClearEarth, which it described as a “newly investigated, naturally occurring material which represents a significant advance over current decontamination processes”.

Topsoil standards
WRAP is working with the British Standards Institute to revise the British Standard Specification for topsoil (BS3882) to encourage the use of manufactured topsoils for landscaping purposes. The increased awareness of land contamination issues is also addressed in the proposed revisions, since reclaimed mineral materials could form a significant feedstock for the soil manufacturing process.

Waste classification research project
A joint Environment Agency/WRAP project funded from the BREW programme, with the aim of defining the point of full recovery from a waste back into a product or material is underway, according to Stewart Marshall of the waste team at Defra. Ten waste types have been chosen, including contaminated soils which have been washed and stabilised.

Nantygwyddon project complete
The final phase of remediation work has been completed at the closed Nantygwyddon